By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
These skills will help you bring your creative ideas to life and produce professional-quality graphic designs that stand out in the trade.
Image creation and editing begins with choosing the right software and tools for the job. Graphic design software is used to build logos, posters, layouts and illustrations; photography software is used to process, correct and organise photographs; and a small set of physical tools supports the photographer who supplies the raw images. A designer who can identify each program by its purpose, and knows which file type it works with, can pick a suitable tool quickly and avoid forcing one program to do a job that another does better.
Example: a freelance designer in Kisumu is asked for a shop signboard, a flyer and a set of product photographs. She draws the shop logo in a vector program, retouches the photographs in a raster editor, and sets the flyer text in a layout program, so each job is done in the tool built for it.
Computers, scanners, printers, cameras and digital tablets are the hardware of the studio and are described under Graphic design equipment; this topic names the software and the photographic accessories that go with them.
Graphic design programs fall into groups according to how they treat an image. The groups are linked to the file types explained under Image file types.
| Name | Specification | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Photoshop | Raster editor with layers, masks and adjustment layers; subscription licence | Photo retouching, compositing, web and social media graphics |
| GIMP | Free, open-source raster editor; runs on Windows, macOS and Linux | Photo editing and image creation without licence cost |
| Krita | Free, open-source painting program with brush engines | Digital painting and illustration with a graphics tablet |
| Adobe Illustrator | Vector drawing program using the Pen tool and artboards; subscription licence | Logos, icons, illustrations and signage artwork |
| Inkscape | Free, open-source vector editor that uses SVG as its native format | Logos, icons and diagrams for web and print |
| CorelDRAW | Vector drawing and page layout suite; native CDR format | Signwriting artwork, vinyl cutting files and print layouts |
| Adobe InDesign | Page layout program with master pages, paragraph styles and text frames | Magazines, brochures and multi-page documents |
| Scribus | Free, open-source desktop publishing program with CMYK and PDF output | Newsletters, leaflets and booklets prepared for print |
| Canva | Browser and mobile design tool with templates; free and paid plans | Quick flyers, posters and social media posts |
Photographs pass through two stages after the camera: organising and developing the images, then detailed editing.
| Name | Specification | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Tripod | Adjustable legs with a tilting head; load rating above the camera and lens weight | Keeps the camera still for sharp pictures in low light and for repeat shots |
| Reflector | Foldable disc with white, silver or gold sides | Bounces light into shadows on a portrait or product photograph |
| Lens set | Wide-angle, standard and telephoto lenses with different focal lengths | Controls framing, perspective and depth of field |
| Memory card and card reader | SD-type card with enough capacity and write speed for raw files; USB reader | Stores images and moves them quickly to the computer |
| Light stand and lamp | Continuous or flash lighting on an adjustable stand | Gives steady, controllable light for product and studio work |
| Grey card | A card of neutral mid-grey | Sets correct white balance and exposure in the editor |
| Colour calibration device | A colorimeter or spectrophotometer that reads the screen | Makes the monitor show colours that match print output |
Although the programs look different, most of them offer the same family of tools in a toolbox beside the canvas. Learning to recognise them lets a designer move between programs easily.
| Name | Specification | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Move and Selection tools | Marquee, lasso and magic wand in raster editors; arrow tool in vector programs | Choose the part of an image or the object to be changed |
| Crop tool | Draggable frame with preset ratios | Trims an image to a new size or shape |
| Brush and Eraser | Adjustable size, hardness and opacity | Paints or removes pixels |
| Clone and Healing tools | Copy pixels from a source point | Repair scratches, dust and blemishes |
| Pen tool | Places anchor points and curve handles | Draws precise vector paths and selections |
| Shape tools | Rectangle, ellipse, polygon and line | Builds basic forms for logos and layouts |
| Type tool | Point type and area type with character and paragraph controls | Adds lettering and body text |
| Eyedropper | Samples a colour from the canvas | Picks an exact colour to reuse |
| Zoom and Hand tools | Magnify and pan the view | Inspect small detail and move around a large canvas |
Panels around the canvas show layers, colour swatches, brush settings and history. Learning where each panel is, and how to reset the workspace to its default arrangement, saves time when a shared computer has been rearranged.
The choice depends on the output and the working conditions, not on brand names.
Install software only from the maker's own website or a trusted store, and use licensed or open-source copies. Pirated programs break the licence terms, often carry malware and cannot be updated safely. Keep the operating system and the design software updated, and keep a record of licence keys and renewal dates for each computer in the studio.
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Free: practical guides, quick cards, workplace scenarios and more.
Create a free accountType: Individual
| Tools & Equipment | Materials |
|---|---|
| Computer with installed Adobe Illustrator | USB flash drive |
| Keyboard | |
| Mouse |
| S/N | Item | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer with installed Adobe Illustrator | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| 2 | Keyboard and Mouse | 1 Set per Candidate |
| 3 | USB flash drive (for saving work) | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| Items to be Evaluated | Marks Available | Marks Obtained | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| TASK 1: Software Setup and Page Preparation | |||
| Observed computer laboratory rules (Award 2 marks or zero) | 2 | ||
| Launched Adobe Illustrator software successfully (Award 1 mark or zero) | 1 | ||
| Set up new document with 500mm x 500mm artboard size (Award 2 marks or zero) | 2 | ||
| Sub-Total | 5 | ||
| TASK 2: Vector Image Creation | |||
| Used basic vector shapes (circles, rectangles, polygons) appropriately (Award 1 mark for each shape type used correctly or zero) | 3 | ||
| Applied color fills and strokes as per brief (Award 3 marks or zero) | 3 | ||
| Grouped and aligned shapes properly to form a logo (Award 2 marks or zero) | 2 | ||
| Used layers to organize vector elements (Award 2 marks or zero) | 2 | ||
| Sub-Total | 10 | ||
| TASK 3: Typography and Finishing | |||
| Added text element with business name (Award 2 marks or zero) | 2 | ||
| Applied appropriate font style and size (Award 2 marks or zero) | 2 | ||
| Applied vector effects such as shadows or gradients where appropriate (Award 2 marks or zero) | 2 | ||
| Saved the file correctly as 'vectorlogo.ai' (Award 2 marks or zero) | 2 | ||
| Sub-Total | 8 | ||
| PRODUCT CHECKLIST | |||
| Final logo measures 500mm x 500mm with correct dimensions (Award 3 marks or zero) | 3 | ||
| All shapes are vector-based and editable (Award 3 marks or zero) | 3 | ||
| Colors correspond to the brief and are consistent (Award 3 marks or zero) | 3 | ||
| Typography is clear, legible, and styled as required (Award 3 marks or zero) | 3 | ||
| Sub-Total | 12 | ||
| GRAND TOTAL | 35 | ||
Type: Individual
| Tools & Equipment | Materials |
|---|---|
| Computer workstation with installed Adobe Photoshop | High-resolution portrait photograph file (JPEG format, 3000x4000 pixels) |
| Keyboard and mouse | |
| Graphics tablet (optional) |
| S/N | Item | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer workstation with installed Adobe Photoshop | 1 Pc per Candidate |
| 2 | Keyboard and mouse | 1 Set per Candidate |
| 3 | High-resolution portrait photograph file (JPEG format, 3000x4000 pixels) | 1 File per Candidate |
| 4 | Graphics tablet (optional) | 1 Pc per 3 Candidates |
| Items to be Evaluated | Marks Available | Marks Obtained | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| TASK 1: Photo Editing and Retouching | |||
| Observed use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and workstation ergonomics (Award 2 marks for compliance, zero if not) | 2 | ||
| Launched Adobe Photoshop and opened the correct photograph file (Award 1 mark for launching software, 1 mark for opening correct file) | 2 | ||
| Adjusted brightness and contrast settings appropriately to enhance photo quality (Award 2 marks each for effective brightness and contrast adjustment) | 4 | ||
| Used retouching tools to remove visible blemishes and imperfections (Award up to 6 marks for thorough blemish removal and seamless retouching) | 6 | ||
| Applied additional editing techniques such as sharpening or noise reduction where appropriate (Award up to 3 marks for relevant additional editing techniques) | 3 | ||
| Saved the edited photograph correctly in both PSD and JPEG formats with specified filenames (Award 2 marks for saving PSD, 1 mark for JPEG) | 3 | ||
| Closed software properly and cleared workstation (Award 1 mark for proper closing and cleanup) | 1 | ||
| Sub-Total | 21 | ||
| PRODUCT CHECKLIST | |||
| Brightness and contrast levels adjusted to enhance image clarity without overexposure (Award 5 marks for correct and balanced adjustment) | 5 | ||
| Blemishes and imperfections removed with no visible editing artifacts (Award 8 marks for flawless retouching) | 8 | ||
| Final image saved correctly as 'edited_portrait.psd' and 'edited_portrait.jpg' (Award 3 marks for correct file naming and formats) | 3 | ||
| Sub-Total | 16 | ||
| GRAND TOTAL | 37 | ||
At the start of this chapter we promised you would be able to:
Tick each one you can genuinely do.
So, are you there yet?
You're competent when you can confidently do 50% or more of what this chapter promised.
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